Indirect tax kitty may contract by Rs 22k cr this fiscal

The indirect tax collections may fall short of the target by around Rs 22,000 crore this year on account of poor realisation of customs and excise duties. The indirect tax kitty comprising customs, excise and service tax could fall by Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 22,000 crore this fiscal, Revenue Secretary P V Bhide told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham function here today. The government has made it clear that indirect tax collection target of Rs 2.7 lakh crore for the current fiscal would not be met as revenue realisation low. The government had collected around Rs 2.81 lakh crore as indirect taxes in 2008-09. Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, yesterday, said, "It is very unlikely that the estimates on the indirect tax will be met, but on the direct taxes front, we are maintaining that it will be more than met." The indirect tax collection, in the first seven months of the fiscal, shrunk by over 21 per cent to Rs 1.26 lakh crore compared to Rs 1.61 lakh crore in the same period last year, owing to the economic slowdown and subsequent stimulus measures to spur growth. According to the Budget estimates, the government aims to earn Rs 6.4 lakh crore from both direct and indirect taxes during the current fiscal.